Job Description

CAMH is Canada’s largest hospital specializing in mental illness and addictions, and one of the world’s leading academic health science centres in the field. By delivering leading-edge treatment, driving research discoveries, creating knowledge and training for the next generation of mental health care practitioners and advocating nationally, CAMH seeks to inspire a movement for change so as to ensure any person living with mental illness is restored.

CAMH Foundation is charged with raising and stewarding funds that will empower CAMH to achieve its aspirations and change mental illness – locally and globally.

The Position

The Senior Development Writer will play a key role in the fundraising effort at CAMH Foundation. The successful candidate will join a team of communicators, digital marketers, donor relations and events professionals who craft programs to spark connection and build relationships between CAMH and those with a desire to give.

First and foremost, they will be responsible for writing transformational and major gift fundraising proposals and will also be adept at writing a wide range of communications and marketing materials.

The successful candidate is a passionate storyteller who is willing to roll up their sleeves and equally write an Annual Report, stewardship report or speaking notes.

Position Description

The successful candidate will be our lead transformational and major gift proposal writer, entrusted with creating compelling, emotive and visually appealing proposals that convey the opportunity and impact available to be made at CAMH and for the cause of mental health.

You will thrive when working alongside the hospital and foundation colleagues to create materials that are highly effective and succinct (often working under tight timelines). Inquisitive, unafraid to ask questions and share your expert communications opinion to help create compelling materials is where you excel.

In addition to being a gifted writer, our successful candidate will be an excellent relationship builder, adapt at navigating competing demands and able to identify key messaging opportunities in a sea of content. Knowing that each word is important, and sometimes a picture or visual is even more important.

Experience with writing and editing proposals, grant submissions and related advancement materials will be considered an asset. Experience working in InDesign and having a visual flair, will also be an asset.

Our Ideal Candidate

This role is ideal for a skilled writer who possesses strong problem-solving skills, analytical ability, political navigation instincts and deep professionalism. While hospital foundation experience is an asset, passion for healthcare alongside intellectual curiosity is a must. We are looking for someone who thinks visually and understands that often less words equates to more impact. It’s ‘how’ the story is told that will result in the desired outcome.

Our successful candidate will be an emotionally mature, self-motivated professional with presence, exceptional writing ability and a strong work ethic. S/he understands the importance of strong relationship building and brings a positive energy with a ‘can do attitude’ alongside strong interviewing and research skills. The successful candidate will be/possess:

A passion for the CAMH brand and a deep desire to acquire and maintain knowledge and understanding of the organization and all priority projects and programs

Strong interview and research skills – able to extract meaningful and relevant information and turn it into compelling narrative/story and key messages with support points e.g. include a quote from the researcher/scientist about the impact they seek to make or include a patient profile/testimonial

Effective time management with the proven ability to manage multiple projects over varying timelines, demonstrating excellence in prioritization and problem-solving and always delivering on commitments

Ability to maintain a positive, flexible and responsive attitude, professional image and team oriented style, collaborative in nature – open to receiving feedback and edits from various stakeholders and has the resiliency to accept the feedback

Deep command of grammar and spelling, exceptional communicator and love of copy editing

Intellectual curiosity – possess an innate desire to learn and teach

Persuasive and creative – able to visualize the coming together of images, graphics and printed word to craft a compelling story

Works comfortably in a highly collaborative environment; manage competing interests and strong personalities

Write and/or edit stories for foundation publications, including the Annual Report and other materials

A Bachelor’s degree in English, Communications, Journalism or related major

Minimum five years of professional writing experience that includes assignments in the healthcare sector; advancement writing, or non-profit experience is an asset

Proficient in writing a range of communications with emphasis on proposals, technical reports, briefing documents, presentations and speaking notes

Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills

Proficient in MS Office including Word, PowerPoint, InDesign

Selected candidates will be required to submit 2 - 3 relevant samples or work related to this position.

Please Note: This position is a one year full time contract with an anticipated start date of December 4, 2017

Salary Range: Competitive Salary and Benefits

CAMH is a Tobacco-Free Organization.

CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto and is a teaching hospital and research institute. As a CAMH employee you will be expected to actively support CAMH’s teaching and research activities, in addition to supporting the clinical work of the hospital.

As an employment equity employer CAMH actively seeks Aboriginal peoples, visible minorities, women, people with disabilities, (including people with who have experienced mental health and substance use challenges), and additional diverse identities for our workforce.